Wakefield’s Role in Red Sox Rotation

The Boston Red Sox’s starting pitching rotation got even deeper with the addition of John Lackey. That means that long time Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield could end up being the odd man out. At this stage in his career, Wakefield isn’t going to be given the nod over Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett and Lackey. Does this mean that Wakefield will be coming out of the bullpen in 2010? Not necessarily. Manager Terry Francona told the Boston Globe that he hasn’t discussed using the knuckle baller out of the bullpen. But he did note that Wakefield is very capable of pitching out of the pen.

Right now it appears that both Francona and pitching coach John Farrell would like to use Wakefield as a spot starter to provide rest for the other guys in the rotation from time to time. He could also fill in if any of the aforementioned starters endure injury or go through a slump.

The bottom line is that Wakefield fans will still be able to see him take the mound from time to time but without nearly as much regularity. Francona also noted that he doesn’t expect Wake to be a 200 inning guy this season.

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